


Remy joins the X-Men

by WandaRavenBlack



Category: Marvel, X-Men Evolution
Genre: Anorexia, Anxiety, Crying, Depression, Drugs, Empath, F/M, Fear, Flashbacks, Hurt, Male-Female Friendship, Nightmares, Pain, Past Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm, Smoking, Starvation, Touch-Starved, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2018-09-22 21:54:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9627134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandaRavenBlack/pseuds/WandaRavenBlack
Summary: Creed goes a bit too far and tries to kill Jean. Remy saves her but gets hurt in the process. Now he can't go back to Magneto. The X-Men try to help him. Will he accept? And what secrets will be revealed?UPDATES ON 00.00 CET BETWEEN FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.





	1. Can't Go Back

It had been two hours. Two hours since the fight had started. And neither of the teams was ready to give up. The professor had been left in the mansion and was looking over everything using Cerebro. Scott and Jean were going against Gambit who, even though their powers seemed to be stronger, was managing to avoid getting hit. Especially since they found out that Jean’s telepathy didn’t work on him. Logan and Hank were fighting Creed and the fight resembled three wild animals trying to kill each other, more than anything. Angel and Storm had taken on Pyro, who was doing his best to throw them out of the sky. Kitty, Rogue and Kurt were fighting Colossus. That fight was mostly based on Rogue getting in a punch and then being taken out of harm's way by either Kurt or Kitty. Magneto was watching everything from a distance. He had to admit that his Acolytes were stronger than he expected. Every team was on their own roof, making the fights even more dangerous. Then Creed managed to knock Hank and Logan backwards so that they both flew into the wall. Magneto raised his hand and both ferals got pinned to the wall with metal bars. Creed smirked and then jumped over to Gambit’s roof. 

“Let’s have some fun!” 

He jumped onto Jean and managed to knock her to the ground. Her head hit the hard roof and she blacked out. Creed pulled her up by the neck and went over to the edge of the building. At the same moment Kurt teleported wrong and got hit in the head with Colossus metal hand. Meanwhile both Remy and Scott had frozen in their spots. Creed smirked. 

“Do you think she will wake up before she hits the ground?” 

Remy took a step forward. 

“Don’t do this Creed. We’re not supposed to kill.” 

The feral’s eyebrows shot up. 

“Oh yeah? And who told you that?” 

And he let go of Jean. Remy ran past him and jumped off the roof without stopping to think. He flew through the air, catching up to her quickly. When he caught up to her, he put his arm around her waist. Then he pulled his staff out, charged it and threw it towards the ground. The staff hit the ground and exploded. The blast made the two falling mutants almost stop in the air. Then they started to fall again but this time they were much closer to the ground and didn’t manage to pick up the same speed before they crashed onto the pavement. Remy had managed to flip them around in the last second so that he was the one that hit the ground and Jean landed on top of him. The hit knocked him out and they both stilled. Magneto was furious. How did that cajun dare to help the X-Men? He made a movement and the three Acolytes stepped out into the air. Magneto grabbed the metal that was in their boots and levitated them over to his own roof. Logan, who had managed to cut through the ordinary metal, freed Hank and they both rushed over to the fire escape stairs. On the other roof Scott did the same. Ororo and Angel, not having to protect themselves from Pyro’s fire, flew down to the two unconscious mutants. Kitty and Rogue were doing their best to see if Kurt was really alright. He rolled his eyes, grabbed them both and teleported down onto the street. This way they arrived there first. Storm and Angel were there a second later, followed by Logan and Hank. Scott came down a few seconds later. He gently lifted Jean off of Gambit and laid her down on the ground. Hank moved down to see over her. A few seconds later he nodded. 

“She’s alright. She blacked out when she hit her head up there but she was not harmed in the fall. Most likely thanks to him.” 

He turned to the unconscious man. After a quick check he sighed. 

“He has a big gash on the back of his head, most probably from when he hit the ground. I’m going to guess that he has some cracked ribs from when Jean landed on him. But I can’t really see or feel too much because of his armour. Miraculously, nothing else seems to be broken. He is a real quick thinker. If he hadn’t made that blast, they would have been killed by that fall. Or at least, he would have. Jean would most probably have survived because of falling on top of him and him taking the biggest hit.” 

Just then, Jean groaned. Scott and Storm helped her sit up. 

“What happened?” 

She looked over to Scott. But the one that answered was Storm. 

“Sabretooth knocked you out. And threw you from the roof. Gambit jumped off after you, created an explosion to cushion your fall and then flipped you around so that you were on top of him and he took the worst hit onto himself.” 

Jean’s eyes widened. She slowly stood up with Storm’s help and went over to the cajun. 

“But why?” 

Logan, who had heard everything that had been said on that roof thanks to his enhanced hearing, answered slowly:

“I’m not sure, but it seemed that he wasn’t told all the detail of following Magneto when he joined them. He tried to talk Creed out of throwing you down.” 

Rogue went a bit closer. 

“What are we going to do with him?” 

Logan and Ororo glanced over to each other. 

“We’ll have to take him with us. Magneto will kill him for helping us. And I would feel awful if I just left him here like this.” 

Jean nodded. 

“I agree with Ororo. We can’t just leave him here. Let’s take him back to the mansion. The professor can decide what to do from there.” 

Logan moved down and picked the cajun up. He looked at him with surprise. 

“What the…?” 

He quickly went over to Scott and stretched the man over to him. Scott took a step back. 

“Are you crazy?! I can’t carry a full grown man!” 

Logan growled in frustration. 

“Just take him. I’ll catch him if you let go. I just need to see if it’s because of my strength or if I’m correct.” 

Scott frowned but slowly slipped his arms under Remy’s back and knees. Logan let go of the boy and Cyclops gasped. 

“Damn. He is almost lighter than Jean.” 

Logan took the cajun back into his arms and gave a soft growl. 

“Once we get him back to the mansion, we need to get him out of the coat, armour and that funny face thing he wears. And Hank needs to give him a full examination.” 

They nodded and started to walk to where they had left the Blackbird. Just as they were going inside, the cajun woke up. Logan put him down on the floor and the door closed. Remy looked around with his odd eyes. Then the lights fired up and he groaned while shielding his eyes. Hank quickly pushed the right buttons and the lights dimmed. 

“You can look now. I turned the lights down.” 

The boy looked around. 

“So Remy is a prisoner now.” 

Jean shook her head and went closer to him, only for him to take a step back. Unfortunately that made him back straight into Logan. He jumped away which seemed to irritate his ribs because he quickly put a hand over them. Ororo put her hands in the air and went a bit closer to him. He looked a bit mistrustful but let her come closer. 

“Take it easy Gambit. We won’t hurt you. We would actually like to thank you for saving Jean.” 

He glanced over to the redhead and nodded. 

“Creed went too far. Even by his standards.” 

Logan growled. That made the cajun take a small step back but the feral didn’t care about that. 

“His standards? You clearly don’t know what Creed is capable of. What he has done. This wouldn’t be his first kill. And certainly not his last. Why do you think Magneto hired him. He needs someone who won’t hesitate if someone needs to get eliminated. Face the facts kid. Creed is not who you think he is.” 

Remy looked at them. He was still not understanding. Was he a prisoner? And if so, why didn’t he have a collar on? And if he wasn’t a prisoner, what was he? Kitty smiled at him and said with a pretty friendly voice: 

“I’m Kitty Pryde. They call me Shadowcat.” 

The cajun was watching her for a long moment before he answered slowly:

“My name’s Remy. Remy LeBeau. They call me Gambit, but you most probably already know that.” 

She nodded and then pointed towards one of the seats. 

“You should sit down. You hit the ground pretty hard.” 

He looked around again. 

“Am I a prisoner?” 

Hank shook his head. 

“No. Right now, you are a hurt mutant. And very high on Magneto’s enemy list. We couldn’t leave you there.” 

The cajun shrugged. 

“Remy can take care of himself. He’s done it in the past.” 

Some of the X-Men were a bit surprised at the sudden change to third person. Jean sighed and went over to the pilot’s seat. 

“Come on Hank. Let’s get him up in the air.” 

Logan grunted and went over to a seat. He put a belt on and closed his eyes. Kitty smiled seeing Remy’s confused face. 

“Logan hates flying. That’s Logan by the way. The woman you saved is Jean Grey. That is Hank McCoy, also known as Beast. The teleporter is called Nightcrawler. His name is Kurt. Kurt Wagner. The winged one is Warren Worthington. Angel. The girl next to Logan is called Rogue. Just Rogue. That is Ororo Munroe. Also known as Storm. And our fearless team leader Scott Summers. Cyclops.” 

She listed them off quickly, pointing at the right people in the right order. Storm smiled. 

“I really meant what I said. We won’t hurt you Remy.”  

He looked from her to Kitty who was still smiling. Then he nodded. 

“Remy will go with you.” 

Kitty’s smile widened. She sat down and pointed the seat next to her. After slight hesitation, Remy sat down. That was when Scott came forward. 

“I wanted to thank you. For saving Jean.” 

Remy just nodded. He still didn’t really believe that he wasn’t a prisoner. But the X-Men were right. He couldn’t go back to Magneto. Not after what had happened. 


	2. A Good Telepath

Remy was lost in his thoughts. Kitty was still talking, telling him about literally everything but he had stopped listening some time earlier. He was trying to figure out what they would do with him. He hadn’t been hit, but that part belonged more to his childhood. He doubted any of these people would manage to beat him up like that. Maybe the feral. But he didn’t come across as that kind of man. There was also that professor. Magneto had warned him about the man. Said that he was the strongest telepath alive and that he could get into anyone’s mind. And even though Remy was really certain that the walls around his brain were strong, he didn’t want to try his luck. Which meant that he would have to try to get away from them before he met the telepath. 

“You aren’t listening.” 

Kitty’s accusing voice tore through his thoughts. Remy smiled softly. 

“I’m sorry, petite. I was thinking about a girl.” 

That always worked. Even this time. Kitty’s eyes widened and she blushed a bit. And then…

“Liar.” 

Everyone turned to the white haired woman. Remy raised his eyebrows. 

“What do you mean?” 

Storm tilted her head. 

“You’re good. I have to admit it. You could fool anyone. But as it is, I’ve dealt with thieves before. I know when people lie.” 

The cajun’s head lowered. He readied himself for screaming. Maybe she would even hit him. She was a mutant after all. She was most probably much stronger than any ordinary women. He waited but nothing happened. When he looked up again, everyone was staring at him. Jean slowly stood up and went over to him. So it would be the telepath after all. 

“We won’t hurt you Remy.” 

Her soft voice surprised him. He frowned and glanced around, letting his power stretch out a bit. No one felt angry. Kitty, Rogue and Kurt were surprised. Jean, Scott and Ororo were sad. Warren seemed to be confused. Hank was sad and angry, but not in the bad way. Logan’s emotions were all over the place. Remy would have gotten overwhelmed if he hadn’t spent so much time with Creed. He knew that ferals felt more raw feelings. And it was actually pretty nice sometimes. He hadn’t needed to go out and dance or drink to get his emotional high. He simply needed to spend an hour with Creed and he would have enough for the next week. That was another reason to why he never left them. He was addicted and couldn’t simply leave the feral’s side. Suddenly Logan growled softly. 

“Stop staring, cajun. I feel as if I have something on my face.” 

“If I’m not a prisoner, then what am I?” 

He addressed the feral since he figured that he would be the one that wouldn’t try to baby him. Logan shrugged. 

“No idea. You’re not a prisoner. You can leave whenever you want, but I would advise you not to try to jump from the plane. And honestly, I would be calmer if you came with us to the mansion. Let Chuck talk to you. See what he says.” 

Before he could stop himself, he said quietly:

“Magneto warned me that Xavier was a dangerous man.” 

Logan snorted. 

“Yeah. I bet he did. Look cajun, Chuck will not hurt you. He won’t try to get into your head against your will. I understand if you are worried about that because I was that too when I first arrived. But Chuck would never invade anyone’s mind without their permission.” 

Remy didn’t believe that. He couldn’t. There were no ‘good’ telepaths. No one that could control other people’s minds could be classed as good. His thoughts must’ve showed on his face because Logan slowly took the belt off and went over to the cajun. He sat down next to him and quickly buckled the belt again. Remy smiled when he noticed that the feral looked a little green. 

“Shut up. It’s not funny.” 

Remy’s smile widened for a second. Then he looked serious again. 

“I don’t trust you.” 

Logan raised one eyebrow. 

“You do. Not the others. But me, you trust.” 

The cajun frowned. 

“What makes you think that?” 

“I’m a feral. You know how to deal with ferals. That’s what makes me think that you trust me. You’re also an empath. You looked a bit high when I was struck with a few emotions. You are obviously more powerful than you want us to believe. Chuck and Jeannie get headaches when they read my mind. And we had one empath at the school who fainted every time I was close to her. So don’t try to lie about yourself because we are not stupid.” 

Remy was shocked. The fact that he was an empath was his secret. Not even Magneto knew. The explosions were obvious. It was hard to hide. But empathy was not visible. He had managed to hide it from everyone. Now it was out there. They would use him. He knew that. Powerful mutants always used others. He had seen it before. Jean gave him a small smile and then rushed back to the pilot’s seat to help Hank land. The basketball field opened and the Blackbird sunk down to the landing hangar. The roof closed over them and Remy almost swore. Now he would have to sneak through the whole mansion and avoid the telepath to get out. Because, even though Logan had said that it was fine, he didn’t want to stay in the mansion any longer than he had. He stood up and hissed when his ribs protested against the movement. Yeah, he had to remember that too. Ororo, Rogue, Angel and Kurt were the first ones off the plane. Kitty hesitated but then Jean grabbed her arm and they stepped out. Hank and Logan looked at Remy. So they were going to be his guards now. He figured that it was clever. There was no way he would be able to get away from two ferals. He slowly went out and noticed immediately a man in a wheelchair. He instinctively strengthened the walls around his brain but was surprised when he didn’t feel any pressure on them. So no mind controlling yet. Hank passed him and went over to the man. Logan stopped next to the frozen cajun. 

“He won’t do anything. Just give him a chance.” 

Remy almost snorted. A chance. How much he would give to get a chance to go back to New Orleans. How much he would give to get a chance to get a home. 

“Let’s go.”  

Logan started to walk, giving the cajun the option of either following or going back into the plane. He weighed both options. And then suddenly, Xavier spoke up. 

“Welcome to the institute Remy.” 

He slowly stepped out of the plane and went over to the professor. He knew he should say something but couldn’t. Not after everything Magneto had told him about the telepath. 

“I have to say that I’m surprised to see one of the Acolytes here. May I ask why you are here?” 

Remy’s eyebrows shot up. 

“As if you couldn’t see it yourself.” 

Logan sighed. 

“I told you cajun. Chuck won’t do it. He’s not like that.” 

Remy noticed annoyance coming from Xavier. 

“I asked you not to call me that Logan. My name is Charles.” 

The cajun tensed up. Now he would see the truth. He waited for the man to start screaming. To throw the feral across the room. To hurt him. But nothing like that happened. Logan just smirked and Xavier rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever. As I said, it’s nice to meet you Remy. But what did you mean?” 

Before he managed to answer, Logan started to talk again. 

“He thinks you’ll force yourself into his brain and control him that way.” 

Xavier looked almost offended but didn’t manage to say anything because Logan continued. 

“As to why he is here. Creed threw Red from the roof. Mags had me and Hank pinned to a wall. Storm and Angel were busy with Pyro. Remy jumped after her. He saved her life and managed to not get himself killed in the process. He was knocked out and we decided that we couldn’t leave him there. So we took him back here.” 

The telepath frowned. 

“Why do you think that I will get into your head, Remy?” 

That question almost made Remy laugh. But seeing the seriousness in the man’s eyes, he answered with a simple sentence. 

“That’s what he told me you’d do.” 

Xavier closed his eyes. 

“Erik. Please Remy, do not believe everything Erik says. He can fool people very easily. I would never just go into someone’s mind and control them unless someone’s life depended on it. And I would be very happy if you would stay here for some time.” 

Erik. So that was Magneto’s real name. That was when Logan quickly stepped forward again. 

“Oh, he is staying. He’s going to explain a few things to us before he leaves. One of them being why he weighs less than Red.” 

Remy’s eyes widened. 

“Merde.” 


	3. One More Chance

The X-Men all stared at Remy. Charles sighed. 

“Why don’t we all just go to the kitchen and eat something while we talk things through. You all must be hungry after the fight.” 

Jean smirked. 

“Logan sure is.” 

The feral growled. 

“If you like my mind so much why don’t you take a look at this.” 

Suddenly Jean became red as a tomato and said with a shocked voice: 

“Logan!” 

He smirked and turned to Remy. 

“Come on cajun. Let’s go get some food in you. You really need it.” 

Remy froze. He didn’t want to eat. He wasn’t hungry. At least that’s what he tried to tell himself. But his body betrayed him. As soon as he heard the word ‘food’, his stomach growled. But still, he shook his head. 

“I’m not hungry.” 

Logan sighed. 

“Don’t give me that crap LeBeau. Take that coat, armor and face thing off and then I maybe will believe that you are not hungry.” 

Everything hurt. His whole body screamed for food, now that he was thinking about it, but he couldn’t give in. He couldn’t give up that little part of control he still had. Especially now that he was a prisoner. Jean slowly went over to him. 

“Remy. Don’t do this to yourself. Please.” 

She took his hand. 

“Come on. Let’s go.” 

He hesitated. He couldn’t trust her. That much he knew. But a small part of him wanted to trust her. Wanted to be able to trust someone. Be sure that he could turn his back to a person and not be afraid that they would stab him. Maybe this was the chance he had been waiting for. And he had to admit that it was nice to finally be touched by someone who didn’t try to hurt him. He nodded and followed Jean out of the room. He heard the two ferals walking behind them and relaxed a bit. He couldn’t explain it but he trusted ferals. Maybe because they had such raw emotions. Maybe because it was easy to predict what they were going to do. Either way, he felt calmer with them close to him. Jean led him to a big medical bay and that was when he stopped. Experiments. So that was their motive. He took a step back and walked straight into Logan. The feral rolled his eyes. 

“No experiments, Gumbo. It’s a medical room. For healing.” 

Remy glanced over to Hank who had gone into the room and started to put the computers on. The blue doctor was acting calm. Logan pushed Remy a bit further into the room and closed the door.

“Alright. Take it off and get on one of the beds.” 

Remy felt fear. He couldn’t do that. Quickly he was trying to come up with something. 

“Didn’t you say something about food?” 

Logan growled. 

“Yes I did. But since Red thinks that it would be better for you to get checked first, then I’m not going to go against her.” 

Remy felt around and noticed a strong connection between the feral and the telepath. It wasn’t love but it was strong. He looked from Logan to Jean. Maybe he should try with them. Just one last time. Give himself one more chance. Hank was still going around the tables and pulling things out. Slowly, Remy took his coat off and put it on a chair. He reached to the sides and untied his armor. To everyone else, the straps holding it together would be an enigma. Under his fingers it opened easily. He slowly pulled the armor off and put it on the floor. That left him in just a grey t-shirt. It was tight, so that it would fit nicely under the armor, and Jean gasped when she noticed how his ribs were clearly visible through the fabric. Remy then lifted his hands up to his face and pulled the facepiece off. His shoulder long hair fell out and framed his face. He was thin. Too thin. Hank seemed to be shocked but collected himself a second later. He pointed to one of the beds and Remy sat down there. Hank rolled a small table over to the bed. On it he had a few small vials, a syringe and some papers. He lifted the syringe and Remy moved away. Hank smiled softly. He understood that the cajun thought that he would experiment on him. It was sad that the young man had clearly been through so much in his life. He needed him to calm down and let him do the examination. 

“It’s alright Remy. I’m just going to draw some blood. Nothing more. I promise.” 

Remy felt disgusted with himself. How weak was he? They would soon get tired of him and stop being so nice. He put his arm out but as soon as the needle was close to it, he dragged it back. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Hank shook his head. 

“It’s alright.” 

Then he got a brilliant idea. 

“Remy. Have you ever drawn blood from yourself with a syringe?” 

Remy nodded. He remembered that time when Sinister had told him to do it because he was too busy and he needed the blood for testing. Hank smiled and handed the syringe over to the cajun. Remy, understanding what the doctor wanted, took it and quickly drew the blood. He handed it back to Hank who secured it on a tray and turned back to him. 

“Alright. Lay down now. I want to make sure that you don’t have anything broken.” 

That was easier to do. He laid down and relaxed. His ribs were still hurting a bit but he doubted that anything was broken. Hank moved over to him and put his hands on the cajun’s chest. He started to slowly feel along the ribs. When he was done, Remy slowly sat up again. 

“Nothing is broken. You were extremely lucky. Lay down on your front now. I want to see how your back looks after that hit you got.” 

Remy did as he was told. He figured that it would be the easiest thing to do. Especially since Hank was very gentle and careful. The doctor slowly pulled the shirt up and almost gasped when he noticed the big bruises on the cajun’s back. They stretched from his lower back and all the way to his neck. 

“Stay here. I’ll get some cream. I’ve made it myself and it works against bruises. Scott uses it all the time since he always manages to walk into things when he is on his night rounds.”

He walked over to the cabinet and pulled a small tube of cream. 

“I’m going to put it on now. It may be a bit cold but it should help.” 

Remy laid still. He wasn’t sure about this but he wasn’t stupid enough to go against the feral. Especially now that he didn’t have his armor on. Hank gently started to spread the cream on Remy’s back. It took a few minutes because of all the places that were bruised up. Hank glanced over to Logan and smiled. 

“You should take example from Remy.” 

The feral rolled his eyes. 

“My healing factor deals with things. I don’t need you poking me everywhere to see if I’m alright.” 

Remy smiled softly. These two seemed to be good friends.

“Okey. Sit up but keep the shirt up. I’m going to wrap bandages around your chest and lower back so that you won’t get the cream on your shirt.” 

He pulled bandages out and started to wrap them around Remy’s chest. When he was done, he helped the cajun pull his shirt down. Jean smiled and went over to them. She sat down on the bed next to Remy and turned to Hank. 

“You need something else Hank? Or do you think we could go to the kitchen and eat?” 

Hank hesitated. 

“Well, I do have a few questions but…” 

Remy understood immediately. They didn’t think he would be honest. And to be honest, he didn’t think he COULD be honest. Not after knowing them for so short time. But then he realized that he needed to tell the truth. Because they were not bad. Because they tried. 

“It’s alright. I won’t lie.” 

Hank looked him in the eyes and nodded. 

“Alright. Let’s start now then, so that you can go eat later. First of all, let’s fill out the personal info so that I can put it into the medical register I have. Your full name?” 

“Remy Etienne LeBeau.” 

Hank quickly wrote it down. 

“How old are you?” 

Remy frowned. He wasn’t sure himself. 

“I think I’m 24. Give or take two years. I didn’t really keep track on how long I was on the streets before I was taken in.” 

Jean and Logan exchanged glances but no one said anything. 

“Closest relative that I can contact in case something happens?” 

“Jean-Luc LeBeau. Mon pere.” 

“Do you have any allergies?” 

Remy shook his head. 

“Any medical conditions I should know about? Diabetes, asthma, epilepsy?” 

The cajun had to think it through. He had never been tested for any of those but on the other side, Sinister wouldn’t experiment on him if he was sick. 

“Non. No that I know of. My eyes are very light sensitive though. And I can see in the dark.” 

Hank smiled. He was very happy that the young man had decided to be honest to them. But he now had to take something up that he didn’t think the cajun would like to talk about. 

“How long have you been starving yourself?” 

Remy froze. A few seconds later, he felt Jean put a hand on his shoulder and squeeze it. He took a deep breath. 

“A few months.” 

“And can you tell us why?” 

He closed his eyes. 

“Magneto wanted us to follow him without any questioning.” 

Logan went closer to the bed. 

“You wanted to be able to control at least how much you were eating and when you were doing that, right?” 

Remy nodded slowly. The other three looked at him with sadness. In the end, Hank was the first one to speak. 

“Alright. Logan, Jean. Why don’t you show Remy the way to the kitchen. Give him some food. But remember not to eat too much at one time, Remy. Your stomach will not like it and I don’t want you to lose any more weight. Okay?” 

Once again, he just nodded. Jean grabbed his hand and gently pulled him off from the bed. Logan passed his coat to him. 

“Put it on. You have almost no body fat to keep you warm. And it’s pretty cold in the kitchen for some reason that I still don’t understand.” 

As they left, Hank sighed. He hoped that the other X-Men would be just as calm as Jean and Logan. Although he couldn’t really understand why the Wolverine was so nice to the boy. After a few seconds he shrugged. He would find out, sooner or later. 


	4. Soup And Choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ!!!   
> 1\. I'm terribly sorry for not updating for so long. Things have been happening and I didn't really have time to write that much. Now, to keep some kind of order to this, I will be updating every friday.   
> 2\. I'm on my way to officially change my name to Morgana. Therefore, my answers to your comments will come under that name.   
> Thank you for sticking around with my story. I love you all.

Remy followed them into the kitchen and immediately understood what Logan had been talking about. It was cold in there. Instinctively he pulled the coat closer around himself. All the others were in there and Remy put one hand into his pocket when they all turned to him. Jean put her hand on his shoulder. 

“It’s alright.” 

Kitty flew up from her place with a big smile. But her smile faltered when she saw his face without the armor hiding half of it. Remy stopped dead in his tracks. Logan and Jean stopped too. And suddenly he felt some sense of security. For some reason he thought that he was safe with those two. That, even if he decided to turn around and get away from the others, Jean and Logan would follow him. Not to catch him and hurt him, but to make sure that he was alright. And that was what made him continue. He walked further into the kitchen and sunk down onto one of the chairs. Kitty went to sit next to him, but one look from Jean made her change her mind and go sit next to Warren. Jean sat down next to Remy while Logan took the place on his other side. Ororo smiled to them and lifted a big bowl with soup over to the table. She put it in the middle and turned to Jean. 

“Jean. A little help?” 

The telepath smiled and concentrated on the small bowls that were standing on the kitchen counter. They lifted into the air and flew over to the table. Remy looked at her with small surprise but didn’t say anything. One of the bowls landed in front of him and he hesitated again. Could he really do this? Ororo smiled and poured some soup in her bowl before she passed on the ladle to Scott who was sitting next to him. It went around the table and stopped at Remy. He just held it and kept staring at the big bowl of soup. Jean frowned slightly but didn’t say anything. He glanced over to her and she smiled softly. And he understood. She was giving him the choice of not doing it. She was letting him decide. And that made him suddenly make a decision. He reached forward and poured some of the soup in his bowl. Not much, since he remembered what Hank had said about not eating too much in the beginning. He then passed the ladle on to Logan and the feral wrinkled his nose. 

“Vegetable soup? Really? What am I? A rabbit?” 

Remy hesitated for a second before he said: 

“Well, with that hair of yours one could think if you aren’t trying to look like one.” 

Kitty and Warren burst out laughing. Ororo and Scott just smiled while Jean rolled her eyes. Rogue’s expression didn’t change. Logan raised one eyebrow and growled. Remy just looked at him with his best innocent eyes and the feral huffed out an irritated breath. And Remy relaxed. This was much better. Not having to worry so much. He never could joke around with the other Acolytes. Pyro always got mad when he turned out to be funnier than him. Colossus didn’t want to joke around. He was always so serious. And Sabretooth would just beat him up when he tried to joke around with him. So that was a nice change. He looked down into his bowl and hesitated again. It looked very inviting. But he was still not sure. It was his choice. He knew now that none of the others would try to force him to eat. Then the door opened and the professor wheeled inside. He nodded his head to them and stopped his wheelchair next to Scott’s chair. Ororo got up and handed him a bowl. He smiled to her and got himself some soup. Remy looked over to Jean and the telepath smiled. He then slowly lifted a spoonful of soup up to his mouth. It tasted good. It was far from the spicy food that he missed from his time in Louisiana, but it was still good. He slowly kept eating, not once looking up to look at the others. He got through half of the bowl, before he started to feel sick. He put the spoon away and felt Jean put her hand on his shoulder. 

“Remy? Are you alright?” 

He shook his head. Jean quickly moved closer to him. 

“What’s happening?” 

He swallowed the sour taste and asked:

“Is there a bathroom somewhere here?” 

Logan was the first person who caught on to what he meant. He quickly stood up. 

“Come on, cajun. Let’s go.” 

Remy flew up and followed Logan. They got to the bathroom around a minute later and Remy sat down on the toilet. Logan looked at him with something very similiar to worry. 

“How are you holding up?” 

Remy sighed. 

“I’m… I’m not sure. I don’t want to throw up. I…” 

Logan walked over to him and crouched down in front of him. 

“Listen here, Remy. You have been starving yourself for a very long time. Your body is not used to getting food. You’ll most probably feel sick quite often right now. It’s something you have to get used to. But it WILL get better. Alright?”

Remy frowned. 

“How do you know?” 

Logan shrugged. 

“I just know. Call it instinct. But I know. You’ll simply have to trust me on this one.” 

Slowly, Remy nodded. The sour taste had disappeared and he felt a bit better. Then the door opened and Ororo walked inside. She was holding a cup in her hand. Steam was rising up from it and the whole bathroom was filled with a smell of mint. She stopped near the door and asked with concern:

“Are you alright?” 

Remy looked her up and down. She just smiled and waited for him to decide if he would trust her or not. In the end he nodded slightly. 

“I’m a bit better. Thank you.” 

He stood up and so did Logan. Ororo looked down to the mug. 

“I made some mint tea. It usually helps me when I’m feeling sick or have trouble with my stomach. I thought that it would maybe help you. Do you want to go back to the kitchen or come with all of us to the living room?” 

And Remy had to sit down again. He felt overwhelmed. After all those years of having to blindly follow Magneto, he was suddenly getting so many choices. And it started to get too much for him. Logan, understanding what was happening, crouched down again. 

“Hey. Take it easy, Remy. It’s alright. Just take your time. No one here is going to force you into anything.” 

It took him around three whole minutes to collect himself. He stood up again and turned to Ororo. 

“I would like to join the others.” 

Ororo smiled at him. 

“Come on then. Jean most probably kept a place for you.” 

She went out and Remy slowly followed her. Logan sighed and looked around the bathroom. He was so angry at Magneto for doing that to the boy, that he wanted to smash something. But he knew that it would most probably not help the cajun so he calmed down and slowly followed the two other mutants that were going towards the living room. Remy was slowly following Ororo. He felt almost overwhelming anger coming from Logan but decided to ignore it. It didn’t seem to be directed towards him. This was all still very confusing. They were not angry at him. Which they should be. He fought against them. He followed Magneto. He had hurt people and mutants before. And they all seemed to be alright with taking him in. Especially Jean, Logan, Ororo and Kitty. Hank had only treated him as a patient. Another hurt mutant. He said it himself. There was no saying how he would be treated once he got completely healed. Warren seemed to be friendly but hadn’t said anything. And, Remy had noticed all those glances that he got from the winged mutant. He was being put under surveillance. Even if no one really showed it. Rogue was a big unknown. She hadn’t really make any eye contact with him and seemed to mostly be annoyed that they had taken someone new in. And the professor… Remy still wasn’t sure how he felt about living with a telepath again. But he decided that he would try. For Jean and Logan. Because they had tried to be friendly. Because he was going to give it another chance. Just one more. He walked into the living room and, when he noticed Jean’s smile, he thought that maybe this was his chance. Maybe this would work out. 


	5. Nothing Hostile

He had gotten his own room. It wasn’t that shocking when he thought about it. He had his own room when he was with Sinister too. And the Acolytes. But this was the first time he had gotten a room where no one was keeping an eye on him. With Sinister, it was the mind games. Because, even though his walls were strong, there was no way to keep Sinister out for too long. It was simply impossible. And the other Marauders were often just walking inside his room without even knocking. It wasn’t easy to live with them. And with the Acolytes it was almost worse. Magneto seemed to always know what they were up to. Nothing ever got past him. Every time Remy did something wrong, he was punished. It wasn’t easy to live there either. But now, it seemed that nothing like that would happen again. Logan had said that his room was just a few doors away and that no one would just walk in. That those were the rules in the mansion. And that it would be best if he followed those rules. No barging into the other’s rooms. Especially professor’s room. No loud noises after 10 pm. No leaving the mansion without telling someone or at least leaving a note in the kitchen where it would be easily found. Those were easy, when he thought about it. But there was still the fact that he would have to live in the same place with two telepaths. Not that he thought Jean would do anything to him. But he wasn’t sure about the professor. He was nervous. He admitted that. There was never anything good happening when a telepath that strong was close to him. Sitting down on the bed, he sighed. This would not be easy. Honestly, all he wanted to do was run away. Leave it all behind. The problem was, he didn’t know where to go. He was banished from New Orleans. If he went back he would get imprisoned in the best case and killed in the worst. There was no way he would go back to Sinister. Not when he had the chance to finally fully get away from him. And he couldn’t go back to Magneto. Even if he wanted. The mutant terrorist would not take him back. So the safest place for him, until he knew what to do, was the mansion. He sighed and slowly stretched his empathy out to the rest of the mansion. No hostile feelings seemed to be coming from anyone. Slowly he slipped down from the bed and sat down in a meditation stance. His eyes closed and he started to take deep breaths. Once he was calm enough, he started to feel around for the kinetic energy around him. It took him a few tries, but in the end he started to feel the outlines of the furniture in the room. He kept his eyes closed as he stood up and started to walk around. Step after step it went easier and easier. After a few minutes, he started to go through some of the easier fighting stances and kicks. His feet and fists stopped millimeters from the furniture and walls. His ribs hurt but he pushed through it. Suddenly, he heard the door open and turned quickly towards it, with a charged card in his hand. His eyes were still closed and, by the movement around the person, he understood that it was Logan. The man froze in the doorway and finally did Remy open his eyes. Logan was staring at him. 

“You…” 

He quickly closed the door behind him and stepped closer to Remy, who had pulled the charge back and put the card in his pocket. 

“How did you do that?” 

Remy hesitated. Should he tell him? Not even Sinister had known about him being able to see through his mutation. But, when he felt around, he didn’t notice anything hostile about him. So he decided to talk. 

“There is something moving all the time. Dust, molecules. As long as it’s not a living thing, I can feel it. That way, I can know who someone is and what they are doing, by simply concentrating on the dust around them. I can’t charge things without touching them, but I can feel them. That makes life easier for me because, even though I can see in the dark, I know that I would be able to walk around blindfolded.” 

The feral nodded. 

“Smart.” 

He pointed to the bed. 

“Can I sit down?” 

Remy, although surprised that he was asked, nodded. Logan sat down on the bed and sighed. 

“Look, I wanted to talk to you about something. Before anything happens.” 

He pointed towards the bed and Remy sat down as far away from the feral as possible. Logan frowned at that but didn’t comment it. 

“Alright. Listen now. I know I have said it before, but I feel like I should say this again. Charles will not hurt you. He will not try to get into your head.” 

Remy opened his mouth to say something, but the feral just put his hand up to silence him. 

“Wait. I know you won’t believe me immediately. That’s not what I wanted to talk about. What I wanted was to know, who you have met, to make you so damn distrustful of telepaths?” 

Remy froze. There was no way he was going to talk about it. About Sinister. So he just repeated what he had said from the beginning. 

“It’s not like that. Magneto warned me about the professor. That’s all.” 

Logan sighed heavily. 

“Don’t try with me, Remy. I know that you are lying.” 

Then his expression softened a bit. 

“I didn’t know who I was when I got here.” 

Remy frowned. 

“Really. I had been through some nasty experiments back then and I wasn’t exactly sure who I was. When I got here, I thought it would all start again. The experiments, the pain. But this is not that kind of place. This is a safe house for everyone who needs to get away from their past. Charles made sure of that. No one here is in a danger. At least not from the people that live here. And if danger comes from the outside, we never leave the person that it’s threatening.” 

Remy was staring at him, drinking up every word. The feral wasn’t lying. Remy himself was a master in lying. And it wasn’t easy to fool him, especially since he could feel their emotions. But still, it was hard to really believe it. That there would be a place where he could be completely safe. Where he could trust people. It would take time for him to understand that. He needed some time alone. Logan, almost as if reading his thoughts, stood up and started walking towards the door. In the doorway, he turned back and said calmly: 

“Don’t move around too much. If you do more damage to your body, Jean might kill me for not keeping a better eye on you while you aren’t that well.” 

Then he winced and shivered slightly. 

“And believe me when I say that you don’t want a pissed off Jean after you.” 

And he left. Remy sunk down onto his back. His nerves were still on the edge but the calm from before was there in the back of his mind. He knew that meditating would be to no avail so he opened his eyes once again and stood up. No one said anything about him having to stay in the room, so he was going to wander around a bit. Slowly he opened the door and let his kinetic part of the mutation spread around him. He felt every bit of furniture and could see what was further down the hall. There was no one else there so he moved forward. The stairs led him to the entrance hall. He looked at the door. It would be so easy to just escape. No one was there. He could just open the door and run. But then he remembered that there was nowhere to run. No one to go to. And, as he suddenly realized, he didn’t want to leave. He was feeling good in the mansion. Even though he was still not sure if he could trust the people. Slowly, he continued through the mansion. Something moved on his right and he jumped to the side. Somehow, he managed to hit a low shelf and blackness appeared in front of his eyes when pain shot through his side. A gasp escaped his lips and he fell to his knees. Pain was quickly spreading through his body and breathing got harder. Kitty, who had just run through the wall next to him, looked at him in shock and slight panic. Quickly she turned around and ran through the wall to where she knew that Jean was. She needed to get help. Meanwhile, Remy was trying to take a breath, but the pain in his ribs hindered him. The blackness around him spread and, slowly, he fell to the floor, unconscious. 


	6. Telling Logan

The first thing Remy heard when he woke up was beeping. And he felt pure fear. Sinister. They gave him to Sinister. He thought that he maybe should jump up and try to escape, but he stopped himself when he remembered the last time he tried to escape. It hadn’t ended well. So he just sighed and stayed on the bed with his eyes closed. The needle in his arm made him uncomfortable but he knew better than to try to remove it. He thought about what must’ve happened. The talk with Logan. The walk in the halls. Kitty suddenly appearing from the wall. Him jumping to the side and hitting that damn shelf. Maybe he broke something. Destroyed something that was valuable. And they decided that he wasn’t worth keeping. He almost jumped up when he felt a hand on his arm. He forced himself to stay still and keep his eyes closed. 

“Remy. I know you are awake.” 

His eyes snapped open. Jean was standing next to him, smiling. 

“Hallo there. How are you feeling?” 

Instead of answering, he looked around the room. It wasn’t Sinister’s laboratory. This was the medical room where he had been before. He was still at the mansion. Jean looked at him with concern. 

“Remy?” 

He turned back to her. Never before had he been so happy to see someone. But at the same time, he was nervous. He wasn’t sure about what they would do to him, now that they had him in the lab. Would they turn on him? Would he get hurt again? But Jean just smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. 

“How are you feeling?” 

This was the second time she had said that. Remy was unsure about what that meant, but he decided that he should answer her, before she ran out of patience. 

“I’m fine.” 

The telepath rolled her eyes. 

“Don’t lie to me, Remy. I don’t need to get into your head to know that you are not alright.” 

Something in Remy shifted and he answered slowly, in the same voice he would have used on Sinister. 

“If you know that, why do you ask?” 

Jean frowned when she heard the shift in his voice. Slowly, she reached her hand out and put it on his forehead. No fever. But there was something in his eyes that made her worried. She reached out to Logan’s mind and called him down to the medical room. The feral would be the safest option since it seemed that Remy trusted him. A few seconds later, Logan walked inside, and Jean started to wonder how fast he had ran to get there so quickly. Remy’s eyes shifted from Jean to Logan. The feral grinned at him and walked over to his bed. 

“Hey, kid. You better?” 

The cajun hesitated. This was a phrasing he hadn’t heard before. People always asked how he was or how hurt he was or, in Sinister’s case, how much more he could take before he passed out. No one had ever asked him if he was feeling better. So he didn’t know what to say. Logan rolled his eyes and sat down on one chair. 

“You know, an answer would be nice.” 

And the nervousness in his body disappeared. Because this was a feral. Ferals were, in a way, easy. Slowly, he tried to sit up, only to gasp at the pain that shot through his body. Jean put her hand on his shoulder and pushed gently, as if she wanted to show him that he had to stay down. Logan rolled his eyes. 

“Come on, Gumbo. You know as well as I that you shouldn’t be moving around.” 

Remy took a deep breath. 

“What happened?” 

“Kitty surprised you and you jumped into a shelf. Which, after what I saw in your room, still shocks me.” 

Jean frowned. 

“What did you see in his room?” 

Remy froze, thinking that Logan would tell, but the feral just shrugged. Jean glared at him, but he didn’t say anything else, so she turned towards Remy. 

“Your ribs seem to be pretty beaten up so it would be best if you could stay in bed for some time. I’ll take the IV away, but you’ll have to promise me that you will drink. I had to put it in, since we didn’t know how long you’ll be out. And I didn’t want you to get dehydrated. Alright?” 

The cajun nodded and tensed up when Jean reached towards his arm. The telepath froze when she noticed that. Logan raised his eyebrows. 

“Remy. It’s alright.” 

In his mind he told Jean to just keep moving. After a second of hesitation, she continued on with her previous task. Gently, she turned the IV off and pulled the needle out of his arm. Remy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He needed to calm down. This wasn’t Sinister. There would be no experiments. He was safe. Logan frowned and glanced up to Jean. When she met his eyes, he made a move with his head towards the door. Jean understood. She nodded and went out. Logan moved closer to the bed, but not close enough to crowd in on the boy. 

“Gumbo?” 

Remy’s eyes snapped open. 

“Huh?” 

The feral smirked. 

“What? I’m not allowed to give you nicknames?” 

Then his smirk disappeared and he looked serious once again. 

“Listen, Remy. I need to talk to you.” 

Remy nodded slowly. He didn’t like the sound of it, but he knew that there was no way for him to get away now. 

“Before you started to work with Magneto, where were you?” 

“New Orleans.” 

His answer came immediately and Logan frowned. 

“I mean after that. After New Orleans and before Magneto.” 

Remy kept his eyes on him, making sure to not show anything on his face. 

“I joined him after I left New Orleans.” 

The feral sighed. 

“Please, Remy. I’m giving you a chance here to tell me the truth. You can trust me.” 

They stayed in silence for almost five minutes. Then, Remy decided that he would tell him. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to. He wanted to come clean. At least to Logan. He trusted the man. 

“I… I worked for Sinister.” 

He watched as Logan’s eyes widened and regretted opening his mouth. He shouldn't have said anything. They would hate him now. Every little bit of trust they might have had in him, would be gone. But then, Logan took a deep breath and sighed. 

“For how long?” 

Remy was shocked. He was prepared for shouting. Maybe a beating. But the feral seemed to be calm. Very calm. 

“I was around 18 when I left New Orleans. I spent two years with Sinister. Then I joined Magneto.” 

Logan put up one hand. 

“You’re lying. But you’re also telling the truth. And it’s confusing me.” 

For a moment, Remy just stared at him. Then he seemed to remember that he was talking to a feral. And, because of him still being hurt, he still didn’t have the same control over the emotions he was projecting. He closed his eyes. Logan put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Remy. I’m not going to be mad at you. And, whatever you say, I will not use it against you. I swear.” 

Remy looked at him. This was new. Logan was telling the truth. He could feel it. So he decided that he would tell him everything. 

“There was an accident in New Orleans. I was going to marry a girl from the Assassins guild. But, before the marriage, her brother challenged me to a duel. We fought and I threw a knife at him. A charged knife. I… I didn’t even know I could do that. The marriage never went through. From what I know, Bella married someone else shortly after that. Julien survived but lost his arm. Jean-Luc, mon pere, was forced to somehow punish me for what I did. He knew that if I stayed in Louisiana, I would most probably get killed by the assassins. So he banished me. I had to leave. I went to New York, where my mutation got out of control. I accidentally blew up a theatre. Some people got injured but, thankfully, no one died. That was when I heard about Sinister. I knew that he could help me. So I went there. He said he would help me but on one condition. I had to work for him to pay off the debt it would put me in. I didn't know what else to do, so I agreed. He helped me. Made sure I had control over my mutation. But the price.” 

He shivered but, when he realized that Logan wasn't looking at him with hate or disgust, just continued on with the story. 

“I put together the Marauders. It took me some time to find them all, but in the end I did it. Thought it would be all. But he wanted one more thing. I had to lead the Marauders down to the tunnels.” 

Logan frowned. 

“Tunnels? You don't mean…?” 

Remy nodded. 

“The Morlocks.” 

He closed his eyes and readied himself for a blow. But it never came so he opened his eyes again. Logan, still frowning, nodded. 

“Keep going.”

Remy took a deep breath. 

“When I saw what they did down there I tried to stop them. But Creed got in the way. He slashed me but, thanks to my accelerated healing, I escaped without scars. I ran away and was found by Magneto. He offered me a deal. He would keep me safe from Sinister, as long as I worked for him. Should've learned the first time that those deals never ended up well. But I was stupid. I agreed. I met Creed again, but I decided to play as if I didn't care. You know the rest of the story.” 

Logan nodded. They sat in silence for a long moment, before he moved so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“Remy. Look at me.” 

Their eyes met and he smiled. 

“I don't hold it against you. You were stupid, yes. But you did it all to keep people safe. Nothing would have ever happened if you didn't strike the first deal with Sinister. And you did it, because you didn’t want to hurt anyone. People can change, Remy. I am one of the biggest cases of that. Before I got here, I didn’t care who I killed or hurt. I just did what I wanted. But I got the chance to change. Now you have it too.” 

The cajun just looked at him with wide eyes. A chance. Wasn’t that all he ever wanted?

                                                                  ***

Jean was crying. She had heard everything through Logan’s mind and she couldn’t understand how this boy had been through all those things and wasn’t dead. Or evil. How he managed to still be himself after going through so much. He needed a family. Friends. And she was going to give him that. 

                                                                  *** 

On the other side of the mansion, Xavier sighed. This was not good. He trusted Logan and his instincts. But there was something about Remy that made him feel uneasy. Slowly, he wheeled himself over to the phone and dialed the right number. He had to do something, before someone got hurt. 


	7. Scott

Later that day, Jean allowed Remy to get out of bed, on the condition that he didn’t wander around too much and took it easy. He just agreed, not telling her about his sped up healing. He started to make his way towards the living room when he heard a curse from the kitchen. After a moments hesitation, he walked inside and shivered when he was hit by the cold. His forehead wrinkled when he saw Scott looking down into a saucepan. He took a slow step closer. 

“Is everything alright?” 

Scott jumped and cursed again. He turned around to Remy and sighed. 

“Remy. Don’t sneak up on me like that.” 

The cajun tilted his head slightly and pointed to the pan.

“What’s that?” 

Scott sighed. 

“Jean asked me to make some food for everyone. Something light so that you could eat it and in big quantity so that Logan and Hank don’t have to go hungry.” 

For a moment, Remy just stared at him. Then he burst out laughing. Scott looked at him with an annoyed glare. 

“Shut up. And if you aren’t going to help with the food, get out.” 

Slowly, Remy calmed down. He glanced over to the stove and hesitated. Scott, seeing that, waited in silence. Then the cajun nodded. 

“Alright. Let me guess that you have no idea what you are doing.” 

Scott shrugged. 

“I’m not the best at cooking, alright? I’m not sure what Jean is expecting.” 

Remy looked around the kitchen. 

“Do you have eggs?” 

Scott nodded. 

“Tomatoes? Cucumbers? Bacon? Spices?” 

Another nod. 

“Okey. Take the tomatoes and cucumbers out, wash them and cut them to small pieces.” 

Then he took out the bacon from the fridge and dumped it all in the pan. He kept an eye on it while he started cracking eggs. Scott was cutting the vegetables and glancing over to the cajun from time to time. There was something about him that he just couldn’t understand. Why had he joined Magneto when he was so clearly not evil. Why had he saved Jean, risking his own life in the process? Those and more questions flew around in his head. Meanwhile, Remy had gotten the bacon hot and nodded towards Scott. 

“Dump all the vegetables in here.” 

Scott picked up the bowl with them and did as he was told. Remy gave him a wooden spoon and sad calmly: 

“Keep moving it all. The tomatoes love to get burned. Where do you keep all your spices?” 

Scott pointed towards the right cabinet and concentrated on the food. Remy opened the cabinet and started to look through the spices. He took out salt pepper and cayenne. Then he hesitated. Not many people liked spicy food. Then he shrugged and pulled out basil, dill, oregano, thyme and parsley. He carried them back to scott and put them on the table next to the bowl with eggs. He thought back to how tante Mattie used to season the food and put in the spices in the eggs. Then he lifted the bowl and put it all in the pan. 

“Keep mixing. Or I could do it while you take the bread out.” 

Scott nodded and stretched the spoon over to Remy. 

“It’s better if you do it. Just so that there are no accidents. Kitty almost burned down half the kitchen once when she was cooking. Jean and Ororo were furious.” 

Remy grabbed the spoon with a nod and small smile. 

“What did they do?” 

By now he understood that there were no beatings at this place. But there had to be some kind of punishment. And it was always good to know beforehand. Scott shrugged where he was cutting the bread into slices. 

“They agreed to put her on washing the dishes for a month, cleaning up the living room after movie nights for two months and no shopping for two weeks. I think Jean wanted to take her electronics away too but Ororo stepped in and said that it would be too much.” 

Remy had to say that he was shocked but, then again, maybe Magneto had really been lying. Maybe there really were no bad punishments here. Washing the dishes wasn’t that bad. Neither was cleaning. Scott got done with the bread and put it in the middle of the table. Then he walked over to the stove. 

“How’s it going?” 

Remy took out a normal spoon and gave it to him. 

“Taste it.” 

Slowly, Scott put a bit of the eggs and vegetables on the spoon and put it in his mouth. His eyes widened. Remy shifted from leg to leg. 

“What? Too much?” 

Scott shook his head quickly. 

“No. This is perfect. Jean, however amazing of a cook she is, never seasons things enough. Neither does Ororo. You have to cook more often.” 

Remy felt himself smile. This was nice. Nothing that he had expected when he first woke up in the Blackbird, but still nice. Scott noticed the shiver that went through the cajuns body and frowned. 

“Where is your coat?” 

Remy shrugged. 

“I don’t know. Jean must’ve taken it somewhere.” 

Scott quickly walked over to one of the closets in the corner and pulled out a big lumberjack hoodie. 

“Here. Put this on. You’re freezing. And there is still something wrong with the temperature in here.” 

Remy frowned at the hoodie. Scott smiled. 

“It’s alright. It’s Logan’s. He usually puts it on when Jean is nagging him about putting more clothes on when he chops wood in the winter. He won’t mind you having it on.” 

Slowly, Remy reached out and grabbed the hoodie. It was red and black. For a moment he got the odd thought that it would fit his eyes, before he quickly pulled it on and relaxed. It was warm. He couldn’t understand how Logan could want to ever wear it. He remembered Creed always complaining about the warmth. It must’ve been a nightmare for Logan. He lifted the pan with the hot food over to the table while a plan formed in his mind. Scott smiled, seeing that the shivers had stopped and went over to a button on the wall. He pressed it down and spoke into the small opening next to it. 

“All the X-Men report to the kitchen. Food it ready. Last person takes the dishes.” 

Remy quickly let his kinetic energy spread out and felt several shifts when people rushed towards the kitchen. Then he jumped slightly when Kurt suddenly appeared right next to him, with Kitty. The teleporter smiled apologetically. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Remy nodded. 

“It’s alright.” 

Moments later the other X-Men appeared. Logan was the last one through the door and he cursed, earning himself stern looks from Xavier and Jean. The feral glanced over to Remy and frowned seeing the hoodie. Remy quickly smiled and took a step towards him. 

“Do you think I could maybe keep this one? At least until I get some more clothes for myself? You don’t freeze, since you are a feral. I’m used to much warmer climates.” 

Logan grinned. 

“Sure, Gumbo. Keep it.” 

Jean frowned but didn’t say anything. They all sat down and started putting the food on their plates. Warren was the first one to taste. His eyes widened. 

“Wow. This is delicious. Scott you shock me.” 

One after another, all the X-Men praised the food. First then, did Scott smile widely and point towards Remy. 

“Actually, Remy did it. I just cut the vegetables. It was his idea.” 

Everyone turned towards Remy who, as they first now noticed, was eating without a word of protest or hesitation. Jean smiled towards him and he returned the smile. There was a frown on Xavier’s forehead, but it disappeared quickly when Hank dragged him into a conversation. Remy was feeling relaxed. Scott wasn’t bad either. Without even realizing it, he moved the man up onto the list of people he trusted. He got a spot right next to Logan and Jean. He smiled softly. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. 


	8. The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being a bit late. Had a rough couple of days. The next update will be on Friday.

Later the same day, Remy found himself standing in the main hallway. He was staring at the door. The need to get out was still there, but there was also something else present. Something he couldn’t place. He couldn’t place it anywhere, but it wasn’t a bad feeling so he ignored it. Suddenly, he felt someone approaching. Their feelings were calm so, not wanting to appear jumpy, he didn’t turn around to look who it was. But he did tense up a bit when he recognized the rolling sound of Xavier’s wheelchair. 

“Bonjour, professeur.” 

Xavier wheeled up to him and stopped next to the boy. 

“Hello, Remy. I was wondering if you could maybe come upstairs with me. I would like to talk to you.” 

Remy glanced over to him. He didn’t sense any shift in the man’s emotions so he decided to agree. After all, this was a telepath. Even if he said no, the professor could just force him to do it. 

“Of course.” 

Xavier smiled and turned his wheelchair around. Remy glanced at the door and took a deep breath. He needed to calm down. Slowly, he followed the man into an elevator and they went all the way to the top. They got out and Remy looked around with curiosity. He hadn’t been up here yet. The corridor had a few doors but other then that, it was empty. Xavier noticed the boy’s curious gaze, but didn’t say anything. He wheeled over to his door and frowned when it wouldn’t open. For a moment he just stared at it, before he sighed. Remy looked at him with a questioning look. 

“I asked Jean to clean my office earlier today. She must’ve locked it by accident.” 

Remy tilted his head slightly, before he spoke up. His voice was careful. 

“I could open it.” 

The professor looked up at him. 

“With all due respect Remy, I’m not sure I want you to blow my door up.” 

Remy’s eyes widened. How could he be so calm about it? But then he shook his head quickly. 

“Non. I can…” 

He hesitated for a second. 

“I can pick the lock.” 

Xavier frowned. 

“You can pick locks?” 

He nodded slowly, starting to regret talking. He would be kicked out now. There was no way the X-Men would ever want a thief in their mansion. But he got the shock of his life when Xavier nodded. 

“If you could do that, it would be very helpful.” 

Still in shock, he pulled a bobby pin that he had put in the pocket of Logan’s hoodie, which he still had on. Just seconds later, the lock clicked and the door opened. Xavier looked at the boy with shock. There was no way a human with a normal background would be able to pick a lock so quickly. Remy took a step away from the door and Xavier forced himself to smile. 

“Thank you, Remy.” 

He wheeled inside the office and the boy followed him. 

“Do sit down.” 

Slowly, Remy sat down on the chair. The professor stopped his wheelchair on the other side of the desk and smiled. 

“There are a few things I need to talk to you about, Remy. First of all, I got the medical report from Hank on you. I noticed that Hank put an estimated age at 24. Why did you not give him your real age?” 

Remy sighed softly. 

“I don’t know my exact age. It must be over 20, since I was 18 when I got banished.” 

“What happened after that? What made you lose track?” 

The cajun froze. He cursed in every language he knew in his head. He had told Hank that he didn’t know because he grew up on the streets. Now he had been caught in a lie. Xavier leaned forwards a bit. 

“Remy. I heard what you told Logan.” 

Remy’s eyes widened and the man continued quickly: 

“It was not his fault. He didn’t know.” 

But that didn’t make it any better. Remy thought back to what Logan had said. That Xavier would not get into his head without permission. This proved that he had been wrong. And that Xavier wasn’t as wonderful as the others had painted him. The professor frowned, when he noticed the sudden mistrust in the boys eyes. 

“Remy?” 

“Was Magneto right?” 

For a moment he was quiet. Then, very slowly, he asked: 

“Right about what?” 

“About you. You can get into others heads. You do it without their permission.” 

“Remy…” 

The cajun flew up from his chair. 

“Tell me the truth!” 

Not even realizing it, he put his charm behind those words. Xavier was shocked when he suddenly started to talk, telling the cajun everything. 

“I can get into people’s heads without their permission. I usually don’t do it, unless someone could be a threat to the school. I got into Logan’s head because I snapped up his thoughts about you and I wanted to figure out a bit more about you.” 

He snapped his mouth shut and looked at the cajun with wide eyes. 

“What was that?” 

Remy sat down slowly. 

“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” 

He readied himself for the yelling. Beating. But nothing came. Xavier tilted his head slightly. 

“You can control other people?” 

He shook his head and felt sudden feeling of exhaustion coming from the telepath. 

“Remy. I need you to be honest with me. Trust me, whatever you say, I will not judge you. You will not be punished for anything you did in your past. I promise.” 

The black and red eyes looked up and Remy checked the emotions in the room. They were still the same. Calm. Slowly, he nodded. The truth. Honesty. After so many years of lying to survive, could he really tell the entire truth? He had to try. 

“I lied to Hank. I… I lost the grip on time when I was with Magneto. He didn’t let me close to any calendar. I didn’t get to leave the house unless it was to fight. I didn’t know how long time had passed.” 

Xavier smiled softly. He was happy that the boy was being honest. 

“Can you estimate how long time passed between the time when you joined Erik and the first fight with us?” 

Remy nodded. 

“The first fight was two days after I joined.” 

“The first fight in which you participated on Erik’s side was a year ago.” 

Remy’s eyes lit up. That gave him something to work with. But that would mean… He gasped quietly. 

“I’m 21.” 

He hadn’t been so wrong. After all, he had said ‘24 give or take two years’. But he had been more than sure that he would be closer to 24 or even 25. Not 21. He glanced over to the calendar on the desk and noticed that it was just March. It wasn’t even his birthday yet. He was still 20. Xavier gave him the time to collect his thoughts. After a few minutes, he spoked up again. 

“Can we continue?” 

Remy nodded. 

“I understand from your reactions that you have been abused. I need to know who it was, Remy.” 

The cajun frowned. 

“Why?” 

“So that I can help. I want to help you, Remy.” 

“Talking will not help. What happened, happened. No talking can change it.” 

For a moment, Xavier wanted to protest, but seeing the determination in the boy’s odd eyes, he nodded. 

“Alright. Could you tell me how you could make me tell you the truth without me even realizing what I was doing?” 

This was easier. 

“It’s part of my mutation. Like a charm. I can make people do what I want. I force my will onto them. I don’t exactly have complete control over it, and sometimes I do it without knowing. But it doesn’t seem to work if I don’t have eye contact with the person I’m using it on.” 

The professor nodded. That made sense. 

“I’ll let you go in a moment, Remy. Just one more thing. Is there anything we should know about you? Anything that maybe makes you feel bad or scared. We will not use it against you. We just want to keep away from things that might make you uncomfortable.” 

Remy thought about that. Would he be able to tell them all his secrets? A chance, Remy. He reminded himself about Jean’s smile. Logan’s acceptance. The day with Scott. 

“I don’t like cold. And… I don’t like people moving to quickly towards me. Especially men.” 

Xavier nodded again. 

“And you don’t like telepaths, right?” 

Remy shrugged slightly. There wasn’t any accusation in the professor’s voice so he answered truthfully. 

“I don’t have anything against Jean. But… It’s hard to suddenly get along with the man you were taught to fear.” 

A nod was all he got for a long moment. Then, Xavier wheeled back a bit. 

“That’s all, Remy. Thank you for being honest with me.” 

Remy quickly stood up. He knew a dismissal when he heard it. He walked out of the office and, a few minutes later, he notice that his feet had taken him back to the front door. He started staring at it again. And, once again, he felt someone approaching. This time, it was steps. Logan came to a stop next to him. 

“Thanks for taking that hoodie.” 

Remy nodded. 

“I know. Creed would have hated it too.” 

Logan snorted. 

“Well, it’s good that you know about ferals. Might make my life easier. But I meant what I said. Keep it. You need warm clothes now.” 

Without even realizing what he was doing, Remy moved a bit closer to the feral. Logan frowned at him, and the cajun quickly stepped away. 

“I’m sorry. It’s just… You’re a feral. I… It’s nothing. I’m sorry.” 

Logan’s frown deepened before sudden realization appeared in his eyes. 

“You’re an empath. How could I forget. You feed off my emotions, right?” 

Slowly, he nodded. Logan walked close to him and, making sure to keep his movements slow, put an arm around his shoulders. 

“It’s alright Remy. I understand. Come on. Let’s get into the living room and put on some movie. Just relax for a bit. And, if you ever feel like you need um…” 

Remy quickly jumped in. 

“Get high?” 

Logan smirked. 

“Yeah. If you ever need to get high, don’t hesitate to come to me. I don’t want you to try to find some other feral out there and maybe end up with Creed again.” 

Remy shivered slightly, before he smiled. Ferals, he liked. Ferals were easy. But then he remembered the talk he had with the professor. 

“Logan. Xavier listened to the entire conversation where I told you about Sinister.” 

The growl that ripped out of Logan’s chest would scare off even the bravest warriors. But Remy just felt calm. The anger wasn’t aimed at him. And now he had the proof he had needed. Logan wasn’t going to betray him. Logan didn’t lie. 


	9. You're Welcome Here

Remy was slowly falling asleep. He had started to ignore the movie around 20 minutes ago, and was just keeping his eyes on the screen to make Logan think that he was awake. They were sitting next to each other, their shoulders touching. Remy had drawn his legs up onto the couch and pulled them close to his chest. He felt his eyes shut and snapped them open again. Next to him, Logan sighed and put his arm around Remy’s shoulders. He pulled the cajun closer to himself and Remy found himself suddenly leaning against the ferals side. He glanced up to Logan’s face. 

“Sleep, Remy.” 

And then, before the younger man could say anything, he added more softly. 

“It’s alright.” 

After a few seconds hesitation, Remy let his head fall onto Logan’s shoulder and relaxed. Logan smiled and let the calmness envelop him. He wasn’t sure if it was his own or Remy’s, but he accepted it. The movie ended and the room became dark, but he still didn’t move. ‘Jean? Are you awake?’ A few seconds later, he heard her answer in his head. ‘Yes. What is it, Logan?’ ‘Could you come down to the living room with a thick blanket? It will get cold here and Remy just fell asleep. I don’t want to wake him.’ A few minutes later, he heard Jean’s steps coming towards the living room. She opened the door and made a move to turn on the big light, so he quickly thought ‘Don’t’. She frowned, before she went over to a small lamp and turned it on. Soft, yellow, light spread around the room. Remy frowned, but didn’t wake up. Jean smiled when she saw them. 

“He looks so calm.” 

Logan nodded and Jean gently put the thick blanket around Remy. The cajun snuggled into the warmth and relaxed even more. Jean went over to one of the armchairs and sat down. Logan frowned at her. 

“What?” 

“I listened in to what he told you. About Sinister.” 

Logan felt rage build inside of him, but quickly calmed down when Remy whimpered in his sleep. He pulled the cajun closer to himself. 

“I know what I did was wrong. But I just want to help him. “

Logan sighed. 

“You’re not helping by not giving him privacy. Just think about it, Jean. The way he is mistrustful when it comes to telepaths. You getting information about him like that will only make it worse.” 

Then he sighed again. 

“Especially since Chuck did it too. And told him about it.” 

Jean’s eyebrows flew up. 

“Professor did what? He never gets into our heads without permission.” 

“He doesn’t trust Remy.” 

For a few minutes, they sat in silence. Then, Logan spoke up again. 

“Jean? Can you do something for me?” 

She nodded. 

“Talk to Scott. You saw how well he got along with Remy. Tell him as much as you can, without telling him about Remy’s past. Just explain the things that can be noticed now. Can you do that?” 

She nodded again and closed her eyes. Remy’s eyes opened suddenly. 

“I’m not mad at you, Jean.” 

Both Jean and Logan jumped slightly. Two pairs of eyes turned towards the cajun. 

“You’re not asleep?” 

“Non. Woke up when you started to talk. But I’m not angry at you.” 

Jean tilted her head. 

“Why not? I listened to something I shouldn’t listen to.” 

He smiled from where he was snuggled close to Logan. He felt calm and relaxed. 

“You shouldn’t have. But I forgive you. I know you only meant well. Really. It’s alright. I… It’s good that I won’t have to tell it all again.” 

His eyes started to slip shut again, but he forced himself to stay awake. Jean smiled with thankfulness. 

“Thank you, Remy. Thank you.” 

He smiled. Logan rolled his eyes. 

“You girls done?” 

Remy moved quickly and put his elbow in Logan’s stomach. The feral grunted and gently smacked Remy’s head. The cajun smirked before he pushed himself even closer to Logan. Jean smiled softly at them and stood up. 

“I’ll leave you two. I’m in charge for breakfast tomorrow and I want to sleep a bit before that.” 

The two men nodded and Jean left the room. Logan glanced down at Remy. 

“Can I ask you something?” 

Remy nodded. 

“Why do you trust Jean so much but not Charles? They are both telepaths.” 

Remy sighed and closed his eyes. 

“I want to be able to trust again. And Jean is different than the professor. She has the air of honesty around her. Professor Xavier is more… I don’t know. There is something about him that I can’t trust.” 

“What did Magneto tell you about him?” 

Remy froze when the mutant terrorist was mentioned. Logan focused on keeping himself calm and, slowly, the cajun relaxed again. It took a few minutes of silence, before he started talking again. 

“He said that Xavier betrayed him. That they were best friends, before Xavier turned his back on him and started to work against him. He said that, before they went their own ways, Xavier tried to control him to make him stay on his side. And that he had showed him… Horrible things. Things that would put Sinister and his laboratories to shame.” 

Logan took a calming breath. 

“Remy. That is not true. They went their own ways, yes. And it is true that they were good friends before that. But Charles never tried to control him. He wouldn’t.” 

“Just like he wouldn’t get into your head without your permission?” 

Remy’s voice was irritated. Logan gently turned the cajun a bit so that they were looking at each other. 

“Remy. Can you just think about it for a moment? You are smart. You must understand how things are now. You worked with Magneto. It might be hard for some people to simply accept that you have switched sides.” 

Remy snorted. 

“Switched sides? Not like I had any other choices. I can’t go back to Magneto. I’m not going back to Sinister. What was I supposed to do? Go on the run again? How long would that work out? How long before someone captured me again? Who would it be this time? Sinister again? One of Magneto’s men? That Stryker? I’ve heard word on the streets about him. With my powers, do you really think that he would just let me go?” 

Logan frowned at something the cajun had said. 

“You said that you can’t go back to Magneto. Do you WANT to go back?” 

Remy shook his head quickly. 

“Non. Never. But it was an option before. Now, I have nowhere to go.” 

Logan hugged him close again, forcing Remy’s face into the crook of his neck. The cajun snorted a short laugh out, but accepted the new position and curled up again. 

“You have this place, Remy. You have me and Jean. Even Scott seems to like you. It’s alright. You’re welcome here. I’ll talk to Charles. He isn’t as bad as you think. He’ll understand.” 

Remy wanted to answer but he felt himself drifting off again. He let his eyes slip closed and did a quick check on his walls, before he let sleep take hold of him. Logan smiled and shifted slightly to sit more comfortably with Remy against his chest. He pulled the blanket around the boy, making sure to not cover himself with it. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep too. 


	10. Rogue

Remy woke up feeling safe, which surprised him. He hadn’t felt safe in very long time. It took him a few minutes of just laying there, relaxing, when he suddenly realized something. The pillow he was laying on was moving up and down. He tried to stand up and started to get worried when he found out that he couldn’t. Understanding that his kinetic energy wouldn’t help him see, he opened his eyes and looked around. The room around him was drowning in light that came in through the big windows. And he realized where he was. Xavier’s Mansion. The memories from the night before crashed into him and he groaned. How pathetic had he been acting? Slowly, he turned his head down towards the thing that he slept on and jerked back when he realized that it was Logan. The feral sighed. 

“You done freaking out?” 

After a few seconds, he nodded and Logan lifted the arm that he was holding him with. Remy sat up quickly and looked away from him. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Logan sat up frowning. 

“What for?” 

“Falling asleep on you?” 

It was formed as a question, because Remy wasn’t sure himself what he was apologizing for. But he had a feeling that he should. Just for safety reasons. Logan sighed quietly. 

“Remy. Look at me.” 

The cajun met his eyes and relaxed slightly when he didn’t see anger in them. 

“I’m not mad at you. I realized that you would fall asleep on me, yesterday. As I said, we had an empath here before. The kid could not be in the same room as me. She passed out. You are more powerful than her. But I understood that you would be a bit out of it after a few hours with me.” 

Remy frowned slightly. 

“But…” 

Logan interrupted him quickly. 

“And if you don’t want to look at it that way, you can think about it as something I did for me too.” 

The cajun tilted his head slightly. 

“What? How?” 

Logan sat a bit more comfortably and stretched his arms over his head before he started talking. 

“My past isn’t exactly happy and I have trouble sleeping. You were projecting so much calmness tonight, that I didn’t wake up even once.” 

Then he stood up. 

“Come on. Jean is making breakfast right now. If we get there before the others, we won’t have to make the dishes.” 

And, seeing Remy’s confused stare, he explained with a smile. 

“Those are the rules here. The last person to the meals makes the dishes. When it comes to making food, usually it falls on Jean or Ororo. Kitty starts fires, Hank experiments too much, Warren can’t cook, Scott seems to have two left hands and Chuck can’t reach all the cabinets.” 

“And you?” 

Logan smirked. 

“I don’t cook the meat long enough.” 

Remy smiled at that and stood up, stretching at the same time. Logan sniffed in the air and wrinkled his nose. 

“You need to shower. Jean will kick you out of the kitchen if you go in like that.” 

The cajun hesitated. 

“Um… I don’t have any clothes to change into.” 

Logan frowned. 

“Go to the shower on the floor where your room is. I’ll ask Scott if you could borrow some of his clothes.” 

Remy wanted to protest, but one look from the feral silenced him. He just nodded and left the living room. He walked upstairs and hesitated when he realized that he didn’t know which door led to the bathroom. And he was not going to check every door. Just as he was thinking about going back to the kitchen to ask Jean, one of the doors opened and Warren stepped out. He stopped when he noticed the cajun. 

“What are you doing here?” 

Remy noticed not only his hostile voice, but also the anger and mistrust coming from him. And it was something he was used to. He kept his head high when he answered. 

“Logan sent me up here.” 

“To do what?” 

The hostility didn’t disappear and he pulled his empathy back to not get affected by the other mutant’s feelings. 

“Shower.” 

His answer was short and to the point. This man was in no way like Jean or Logan. Or Scott for that matter. This man hated him, and Remy understood. Up until a day ago, he had been the enemy. He had worked with Magneto. Things like that would not be forgiven easily. Warren lifted his eyebrows in disbelief and took a step towards him. 

“You really expect me to believe that?” 

And, before Remy managed to answer, he asked another question. 

“Why are you lurking outside Rogue’s room?” 

Remy glanced over to the door that he was standing next to. He hadn’t been paying any attention to where exactly he was and, as he now noticed, it could be seen as if he was lurking. 

“I’m not.” 

Warren went even closer to him. 

“Yeah. Sure. How can you expect me to believe it?” 

Remy frowned. 

“I can’t make you believe me.” 

The winged man nodded slowly, before he suddenly attacked. Remy, who was still not feeling well, didn’t react fast enough. One second he was standing next to the door, the other he was pinned against the wall. Warren spread his wings behind him and pushed the cajun a bit more. 

“Tell me the truth! Why are you here?!” 

Remy froze. Pictures of angry men in dark alleys appeared in his brain. Beatings that almost left him dead. He felt shivers start to go through his body and tried to force himself to calm down, but the anger he felt was starting to get too much. Right then, the door next to them slammed open and Rogue rushed outside. 

“Warren! Let him go!” 

His wings twitched slightly and he turned his head towards her, but didn’t let go of Remy. Rogue took a threatening step towards him and pulled one of her gloves off. His eyes widened slightly and he stepped away quickly. Remy sunk down onto the floor, lost in his own nightmares. After a short glaring contest, Warren turned around and left. Rogue put the glove back on and, after a few seconds hesitation, she crouched down in front of the cajun. 

“Remy? Are you alright?” 

He looked up at her, but couldn’t concentrate on her face. She frowned, clearly not knowing what to do. But then she made a decision and moved closer to him. She stretched one hand out towards his face, but stopped when he flinched. 

“Remy. It’s alright. I won’t hurt you.” 

But he couldn’t see her anymore. All he saw were red eyes, so like his own. A cruel laugh. And then sudden calm. He blinked and latched onto that sudden feeling. Calm. Calm down, LeBeau. Deep breaths. After a few minutes, he got his breathing under control and managed to meet Rogue’s green eyes. She smiled at him and gently put a strand of his hair behind his ear. 

“I’m not a feral, but I can control my emotions pretty well.” 

He smiled slightly. 

“Merci, cherie.” 

She moved so that she was sitting next to him and let her head fall back against the wall. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

He hesitated. Rogue was a wild card. He didn’t know anything about her. During their battles, he had never been put against her. He kept his eyes on the opposite wall when he answered. 

“I don’t know you.” 

She smiled. 

“No, you don’t.” 

And then, after a few seconds hesitation, she added: 

“Warren is an asshole. But you don’t have to worry about him. I’ll talk to Jean about him.” 

“Non.” 

The word slipped from his mouth before he could even think about it. Rogue glanced at him with a questioning expression and he sighed. 

“I’m already enough trouble as it is. I don’t want to get between them.” 

She just nodded and Remy felt relief. Maybe she understood more than he thought she did. 

“Rogue?” 

She made a sound to let him know that she was listening. 

“Why are you doing this?” 

Her forehead wrinkled in a frown. 

“I’m not sure. But you are certainly something different, Remy.” 

He nodded. And suddenly he realized something. They were touching. Not skin on skin, but still. Their arms and shoulders were against each other and their feet were touching. And he understood. She was touch starved. Just like he had been for so many years. People had been afraid of her, while he had been afraid of other people. Very slowly, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She relaxed and he noticed that she leaned a bit more heavily on him. Right in that second, Logan and Scott came into the hallway. Both stopped in shock, seeing the two mutants on the floor. Rogue looked up at them and stood up, still holding Remy’s hand. She used it to help him stand up too. He nodded slightly and she whispered: 

“Thank you.” 

Then she quickly went back into her room and slammed the door shut. Remy made sure that his face was calm and relaxed when he turned back to the two men. But, judging by Logan’s stare, he was unsuccessful. 


	11. Tante Mattie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!!  
> I know that I tagged it already but for safety reasons I'll put a warning here too. This chapter contains self harm.

Remy couldn’t help but flinch when Logan started walking towards him. But then, Scott grabbed the ferals arm and pushed him back towards the stairs. After a few seconds of staring, Logan left again. Remy relaxed slightly. He knew that he couldn’t fool Logan, but he could maybe fool Scott. He smiled towards the other man, but his smile fell when he saw his raised eyebrows. 

“Don’t try, Remy. I’m not stupid.” 

He went closer. 

“What happened here?” 

Remy hesitated and Scott sighed. 

“Come on. It’s alright. I won’t judge.” 

Remy glanced towards the door that Warren had disappeared behind and understanding appeared on Scott’s face. 

“Warren?” 

He nodded slowly. 

“Oui.” 

“What did he do to you?” 

Before he managed to answer, the door opened and Warren stepped out. His eyes widened slightly when he noticed Scott’s face. 

“Scott? What’s going on?” 

Cyclops frowned. 

“Why don’t you tell me?” 

Warren looked over to Remy and hate appeared on his face. 

“What did that rat tell you?” 

“Nothing. He didn’t manage to tell me anything.” 

Scott’s voice was rising but, before he started screaming, he turned towards Remy and said in a calmer voice. 

“Remy. Go shower. It’s the third door to the left. Don’t lock the door. I’ll put the clothes for you on the cabinet.” 

Remy nodded quickly and hurried into the bathroom. A few seconds after he got in there and closed the door, the voices outside turned into angry screams. He shook all over. Not out of fear, but because of guilt. Scott was arguing with Warren because of him. He looked over to the sink and noticed a shaving razor on it. Almost without thinking, he picked it up and quickly got the blade out. He looked at it for a long moment. It had been a while since he last did it. But now, he felt a strong need to do it again. Moving slowly, he shrugged the hoodie off and threw it on the floor. Then he pulled his shirt off too. He looked down at his bare chest. The old scars from Creed’s claws were still there. Even with his quickened healing factor, he couldn’t get rid of them. The infection had been too bad. He picked up the blade and sat down on the floor, with his back against the bathtub. Slowly, he put the blade to his wrist and dragged it across it. Blood came out immediately and he sighed when he felt the sting. It had been so long. His head cleared and everything around him silenced. He dragged the blade across his wrist again and again and again. His hand moved automatically and, after a few wounds, he stopped thinking about what he was doing. He just kept going. Everything was so quiet. So calm. He felt no emotions from the others. So quiet. His hand slipped because of all the blood and he frowned slightly when he noticed the big wound that had suddenly appeared on his arm. Fear appeared in his mind for a second. He didn’t want to die. But then he calmed down again. He would heal. He always healed. His head was suddenly very heavy. It fell backwards and hit the side of the bathtub. He jerked slightly, his mind clearing for a moment. But then he let his eyes slip shut. He would heal. Somewhere in the distance, he heard a door open and someone shouted his name. He tried to open his eyes but couldn’t anymore. He was so tired. Taking a deep breath, he let himself slip away into the darkness. 

                                                             **********

Scott was angry. He didn’t understand what had flown into Warren. To accuse Remy of being a spy. He shook his head and opened his wardrobe. Most of his clothes would not be comfortable to Remy. He looked through them all and chose a plain t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He glanced towards his sweaters but decided against it. The hoodie that Remy had gotten from Logan was much warmer. Carrying the clothes, he went over to the bathroom and knocked. Hearing no answer, he thought that Remy must be in the shower, so he opened the door. And panic hit him. What he saw was nothing he had been ready for. Remy was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bathtub. His shirt was off, and he had five long scars going across his chest. But that wasn’t what made him panic. In Remy’s right hand was a razor blade. His left arm had countless scars across it and was covered in blood. There was blood on the floor around him. His eyes were closed. 

“Remy!” 

The name escaped Scott’s mouth before he could even think. He dropped the clothes and rushed over to the cajun, while he started screaming in his mind. ‘Jean! Professor! Come upstairs! Now! Remy tried to commit suicide!’ Just seconds later, Kurt suddenly appeared in the bathroom, with Jean holding his hand. The telepath rushed over to his side and fell to her knees. 

“Kurt go and ready the medical room. Quickly.” 

The teleporter disappeared. Jean quickly grabbed the shirt that Scott had dropped and put it against the wounded arm. 

“Scott. Keep pressure on this.” 

She stood up and rushed over to the cabinet, only to come back seconds later with a towel. She wrapped it around Remy’s arm and turned to Logan, who had just appeared in the doorway. 

“You’ll have to carry him.” 

Logan shook the shock off and gently lifted the boy up. He turned his angry eyes towards Scott. 

“What did you…” 

But he didn’t get to continue, because Jean gently shoved him towards the door. 

“You’ll get to argue later. Get him to the medial room. Now.” 

The feral nodded and started running. Jean and Scott exchanged a worried glance before they followed Logan. They got to the medical room minutes later and Logan put the cajun on the bed. In the same second, the door opened and Xavier rolled inside. 

“Scott. What happened?” 

While Jean started to clean the wounds and stitch them up, Scott sat heavily on one of the other beds. 

“I sent Remy to the bathroom and started arguing with Warren. He told me that he thinks Remy is some kind of a spy sent by Magneto and that everything that happened was just an act. He doesn’t trust Remy. I shouted at Warren and he left, saying that he needed some air. I went to my room to pick up some clothes for Remy. Then I went to the bathroom and found him.” 

Before Xavier could answer, the door opened again and Rogue walked inside. She paled when she saw Remy and rushed over to the bed. 

“What happened?” 

Jean didn’t even react, still trying to close all of Remy’s wounds. Charles wheeled a bit closer to Rogue. 

“Rogue. Why are you down here?” 

She seemed to remember something, because she suddenly jerked slightly. 

“Oh, yeah. I was outside when some people came. They speak like Remy and say that you called them here, professor.” 

Xavier nodded quickly. 

“Yes. I did. Jean. I’ll leave you to your work.” 

He turned around, but didn’t get far before the door opened again and a woman with dark eyes and black dreads ran inside. She glanced over to the others before she ran to the bed that Remy was on and put her hand on his forehead. She started talking quickly in french and Jean’s eyes widened when she noticed that the biggest wound, the one she had been most worried about, closed and became a thin scar. The woman stopped talking and, seconds later, Remy’s eyes snapped open. He looked around with fear and confusion, until his eyes landed on the woman. 

“Tante Mattie?” 

She smiled and slapped the top of his head. 

“Couillon.”  _ (Stupid/Idiot) _

He smiled softly. 

“Bonjour, Tante.” 

“Co faire, Remy?”  _ (Why?) _

He frowned slightly, but then seemed to remember what he had done. He shook his head and started to say that he didn’t mean to do it when her angry voice cut him in the middle of the first word.

“Dit mon la verite’!”  _ (Tell me the truth!) _

Remy sighed heavily and his next answer came in english. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would go that far. I didn't try to kill myself. I swear.” 

She sat down on the edge of the bed and started stroking his hair. 

“Don’t do that ever again, Remy. I was so worried when we got contacted. I had a bad feeling.” 

He grabbed her hand, lifted it up to his mouth and kissed it. 

“I’m sorry, Tante.” 

His eyes were fighting to stay open and the woman smiled. 

“Go to sleep, child.” 

Remy smiled at her and let his eyes close. Seconds later, he was asleep. 


	12. Healing

Everyone was sitting in the living room. The newcomers were a man with long brown hair and another who looked exactly like him but younger. The old woman, Tante Mattie, was on another couch. Next to her sat a beautiful girl. Her long hair was blonde and slightly curly. Her blue eyes were looking around with curiosity and slight worry. Rogue walked inside the room as the last person and sat down next to Logan. The professor leaned forward a bit. 

“I would like to welcome you to Xavier’s institute for gifted youngsters. It would be good if you could tell everyone who you are.” 

The older man nodded and spoke up with a heavy cajun accent. 

“I’m Jean-Luc LeBeau. Remy’s father. This is Henri, his brother. Tante Mattie is a family friend and very close to Remy. Belladonna is…” 

He stopped and glanced over to the girl. She smiled softly and took over. 

“I’m Belladonna Bordeaux. I was going to marry Remy before my brother destroyed everything.” 

And, seeing many confused faces, she opened her mouth to explain, but was stopped by Logan. 

“Don’t. Remy told me everything and I don’t think it’s right to let everyone know things that he would like to keep as a secret.” 

Warren turned to him with an angry glare. 

“Don’t you think we should know as much as possible about him, for when he flips on us?” 

Henri flew up from his seat, but was pulled down again by Jean-Luc. They exchanged looks, before the older man sighed. 

“I understand your mistrust in Remy. I really do. Especially considering his past and the people he associated with. But he is a good person. And he is loyal, once someone gains his trust.” 

Warren made a disbelieving sound. 

“Yeah. Sure. He’s a street rat and a spy.” 

Suddenly, Rogue stood up, marched over to Warren and slapped him. Everyone froze in shock. Her green eyes were glaring at him. 

“Don’t you dare saying things like that about him! You know nothing!” 

He flew to his feet. 

“And you do?! You’ve never even spoke to him!” 

“I did speak to him! After you left, I stayed with him! I was there to calm him down!” 

Logan sighed, stood up and put himself between the two mutants. 

“Alright. Calm down. Both of you. And if you want to fight, do it outside.” 

Slowly, Warren sat down. Rogue glared at him for another few seconds, before she too sat down. Logan turned to Charles, who nodded at him. 

“I’m gonna go see how the cajun is doing. With his accelerated healing, he might be awake soon.” 

And he left. Moving quickly, he made his way down to the medical room. As soon as he opened the door, he was met with a pair of tired, red and black eyes. He stopped just inside the door, in case Remy was still confused about where he was. The cajun smiled softly. 

“It’s alright.” 

The feral nodded and walked further inside. 

“Close the door?” 

Remy nodded. Logan closed the door behind him and sat down next to the bed. 

“How are you feeling?” 

Remy lifted his hands up and showed his wrists. The bandages that Jean had wrapped around them had been taken off and first now did Logan notice that the wounds were almost completely healed. He frowned at the boy. 

“How fast is your healing factor?” 

The cajun shrugged. 

“Don’t know. When Creed got me in those tunnels, I almost bled out. I managed to get myself to a hospital and get stitched up. That was most probably the only thing that saved my life.” 

“And do you know why you have it?” 

Remy frowned. 

“Have what?” 

“The healing factor. What else do you think?” 

Logan’s voice was slightly irritated and Remy smirked at that. 

“I don’t know. My good looks?” 

The feral huffed in irritation and smacked Remy’s arm. The cajun’s smile grew bigger. But then he got serious again. 

“What is tante Mattie doing here?” 

Logan shrugged. 

“Chuck called them here. Said that it would be good for you to have them here and that we could maybe find out a bit more about you. I managed to stop your girl from telling them anything. Didn’t think you would want them to find out that way.” 

Pure confusion appeared in Remy’s eyes. 

“Them? My girl? Who…? Oh. Bella. Bella is here.” 

For a long moment it was quiet. Then, Logan frowned. 

“You don’t sound happy about that.” 

Remy shook his head quickly. 

“Non. It’s not that. But… I haven’t seen her in quite some time. I don’t know how she will react.” 

“She seemed to be quite happy to finally have found you. And worried.” 

There was a knock on the door and it opened slightly to reveal Rogue. 

“Mind if I come in? I couldn’t stay up there or I would have thrown Warren out the window. Not that old LeBeau or his son are any better. No offense Remy, but your family is quite horrible.” 

Remy’s eyes widened for a moment before he closed them with a deep sigh. 

“Jean-Luc is here? And Henri?” 

Rogue nodded. She closed the door behind her and walked over to the bed. Seeing that there were no other chairs anywhere close, she jumped up onto the bed and almost landed on Remy’s legs. His eyes snapped open and he tried to look offended, but the smile on his face ruined it. The girl made herself comfortable and relaxed. 

“Yeah. They came here with Belladonna and Mattie. The women I have no problems with, but the men… Let’s just say I’m not exactly a fan of them.” 

Remy shook his head. 

“You shouldn’t be. The only reason I still treat Jean-Luc like my father is that he didn’t kill me when he had the chance. It wouldn’t have been hard back then. But he let me live and even gave me a better life for some time. Until I found out that he was only out after my powers that is. Having a mutant who could help him fight the other guild would give him an advantage. Maybe he thought the other mutants from New Orleans would join his side when they saw me. I don’t know. I never had a chance to ask him. Once I slipped, he banished me.” 

Logan frowned. 

“But, you said that he banished you because he knew that it would be dangerous for you to stay in Louisiana. That he did it to protect you.” 

For almost an entire minute, Remy was silent. When he spoke up again, his voice was strained. 

“That’s the version I tell people who ask. The real reason was different. I wasn’t supposed to use my charging power anywhere where the other guild would be able to see it. It was supposed to be our secret weapon. When I charged the knife that hit Julien, I did it before a lot of people. Including the leader of the Assassins. There was no coming back from that. Jean-Luc lost his element of surprise and I wasn’t needed. That’s why he banished me. He would maybe even have killed me but I don’t think he knew how. My healing factor always freaked him out.” 

The older man nodded.

“Yeah. About that. How does that fit in with your other mutations?” 

He was shocked with what the boy had told him about Jean-Luc, but he decided to let it go for now. He had noticed that giving Remy room between the tough questions seemed to make it more likely to get an answer. The cajun frowned. 

“I’m not sure. Sinis…” 

He stopped and turned to Rogue with wide eyes. The girl was frowning at him. 

“Did you say Sinister?” 

He seemed to hesitate, before he nodded slowly. Logan smiled. He was glad that the cajun felt safe enough to admit what he had done, to Rogue. Now he just hoped that she would act right. Meanwhile, Rogue seemed to battle with herself. In the end, she smiled softly. 

“Sugar, I don’t judge you. But I have a feeling that you and I are going to have a very long talk once you get better. Now, go on. Finish what you were going to say.” 

He seemed to be shocked, but started talking nonetheless. 

“Sinister tried to look into it. One day he said that he might have an answer but I would not like it. He never talked about it again. And I didn’t push. I wasn’t that stupid.” 

Logan was halfway through a nod, when an odd though struck him. It made him halt in the middle of the move. He frowned at Remy, before standing up quickly. 

“I need to go and talk with Hank about something. No one other than Jean and maybe Scott should come down here so you don’t have to worry about visitors. I think, taking our guests into consideration, it would be best if you two stayed here.” 

He waited until both mutants nodded, before walking out of the room. In the hallway, he leaned heavily against the wall. It couldn’t be true. And yet. There were some similarities. Not many, but they were there. He sighed, before he headed upstairs. He needed to find Hank. Quickly. 

 


End file.
